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What is Chinese New Years?
Chinese New Years is the new year as calculated using the Chinese Lunar calendar. In China, the new year is celebrated with a week-long holiday. The Chinese New Year is celebrated in other countries that were heavily influenced by China throughout history.
While in Japan it doesn’t have wide cultural significance, in certain isolated areas of Japan you can find people enjoying the Chinese New Year. Areas with a high Chinese population (Chinatowns throughout Japan), Okinawa, and the Southwestern Islands have their own special customs.
Sticky Rice Dumplings
Among the various foods eaten on the Chinese New Year are chimaki, or sticky rice dumplings. Chimaki are similar to onigiri–rice balls sometimes filled or mixed with savory or sweet ingredients–but the method of preparing them is quite different. Chimaki is made by first boiling and frying rice together with meat and vegetables, stuffing the wet and sticky rice into bamboo leaves, aluminum foil, or some other steam-friendly wrapping, and then steaming the rice.
Using a Seiro Steamer
A traditional kitchen implement used for steaming is the seiro steamer. It’s a round, often multi-tiered enclosing made of wood or bamboo designed to be placed on top of a pot of boiling water. Using a seiro is simple:
Fill Pot with Water
If you want steam, you need water.
Place Seiro on Pot
Place the seiro steamer with food on the pot before the water boils.
Clean and Dry
Once you’re done steaming, wipe down the seiro steamer and let it set out to try thoroughly to prevent moulding.
It’s just that simple.
Sticky Rice Dumpling Recipe
Now that you know the basics of using a seiro steamer, let’s make some sticky rice dumplings for the Chinese New Year.
Ingredients
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Dried shiitake mushrooms: 4-5 pieces
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Dried shrimp: 15g (approx. 1/2 oz)
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Rehydration liquid from dried shrimp: 150ml (approx. 5 fl oz)
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Carrot: 40g (1 1/2 oz)
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Pork: 120g (approx. 4 oz)
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Bamboo shoot: 40g (1 1/2 oz)
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Oyster sauce: 1 tablespoon
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Soy sauce: 1 tablespoon
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Shaoxing wine: 1 tablespoon
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Sugar: 1/2 tablespoon
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Star anise: 1 piece
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Water: 200ml (approx. 7 fl oz)
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Sticky rice (mochi rice): 300g (approx. 11 oz)
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Lard: 1 tablespoon
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Chicken broth: 150ml (approx. 5 fl oz)
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Oyster sauce: 1/2 tablespoon
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Sugar: 1 teaspoon
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Salt: 1 teaspoon
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Cooking liquid from ingredients: 50ml (approx. 2 fl oz)
Prepare Ingredients
Soak dried shiitake mushrooms and dried shrimp in 150ml water until rehydrated. Keep the rehydration liquid from the shrimp (150ml) for later use.
Cut the pork, rehydrated shiitake mushrooms, dried shrimp, carrot, and bamboo shoot into 1cm cubes.
Cook Ingredients
Heat a pot, add pork and stir-fry until cooked. Add shiitake mushrooms, oyster sauce (1 tablespoon), soy sauce (1 tablespoon), Shaoxing wine (1 tablespoon), sugar (1/2 tablespoon), star anise, and water (200ml), then simmer over medium heat.
Once boiling, reduce to low heat and cook for about 5 minutes to let the flavors meld. After cooking, remove the ingredients and set aside the cooking liquid.
Wash the sticky rice, drain, and soak for about an hour, then drain again in a colander.
Heat lard (1 tablespoon) in a frying pan, sauté bamboo shoots and carrots until cooked, then add sticky rice and continue to stir-fry. When the rice becomes translucent, add chicken broth (150ml) and the shrimp rehydration liquid (150ml), and stir-fry further.
Add oyster sauce (1/2 tablespoon), sugar (1 teaspoon), and salt (1 teaspoon), adjusting the flavor while stir-frying.
Mix Ingredients with Rice
Add the cooked pork and mushrooms and their cooking liquid (50ml) to the rice, mix well. When the rice starts making a crackling sound, transfer to a tray.
Wrap the Chimaki
Spread out bamboo leaves, aluminum foil, place an appropriate amount of rice and ingredients, and wrap them.
Secure the wrapped packages with kitchen twine or similar to prevent the contents from spilling.
Steam and Serve
Arrange the wrapped chimaki in the seiro steamer and steam over medium heat for about 20 minutes. Once done, let them cool slightly before unwrapping and serve hot.
More Steaming Action
If you’re interested in other steaming options, check out our guide for how to use a stainless steel steamer. If you are on a journey to achieve rice nirvana using traditional (and very handsome) Japanese cooking instruments, check out our guide for how to use an ohitsu.
